


magia

by ainoscenario



Category: Twisted-Wonderland (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Childhood Trauma, Dimension Travel, Mental Health Issues, Mommy Issues, Not Beta Read, Other, Probably ooc, Romance, Swearing, adding more tags as I go, and yuu is nonbinary because i fucking said so, fucked up and evil, like a lot of it probably sorry i have a sailor mouth, reader has a lack of emotion, yuu is a different character than reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 20,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26166631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainoscenario/pseuds/ainoscenario
Summary: "Straightening himself out, the man you were praying was just a really accurate Headmaster Crowley cosplayer spoke, '“Me? Why, I am the headmaster of Night Raven College, I belong here. I believe I should be asking why you are here, if anything.”'If you had a dollar for every cringy anime world-hopping fic you read as a kid, you could've bought out the rights to your newest obsession, Twisted Wonderland. Instead, the universe decided to play the trick of the century on you and make your 12-year-old self's dreams come true.
Relationships: Jade Leech/Reader, Jamil Viper/Reader, Riddle Rosehearts/Reader
Comments: 88
Kudos: 240





	1. your ap has refilled!

Sighing to yourself, you placed your phone down next to you on your bed. You knew that gacha was a gamble, but six pulls with no SSR was just stupid. You had a momentary internal debate on whether or not it was worth grinding for more gems before coming to the consensus of grabbing a snack before you did.

Humming to yourself as you went to the kitchen, you tried to plan out your upcoming scouting plans. Pomefiore’s story surely would be out soon, and you were hoping Epel’s SSR would be nothing short of beautiful. But the current star-themed set was just so breathtaking and hit your aesthetic in all the right ways, you couldn’t _not_ get Deuce’s card - plus it would help give you event bonuses. You grabbed a box of apple juice and some chips before heading back to your bedroom, trying to justify spending just a little bit of money if push came to shove. Spotting the 9% on your phone, you groaned and started to rummage through your backpack to find your charger.

“I know you’re in here you little fucker.” You thought you had found it before a painful shock went up your arm. Whipping your arm back, you looked in bewilderment at your backpack. What in God’s name could’ve possibly done that to you? Slowly looking back into it, your eyes widened when you realized it was pitch black. “There’s… no way that’s normal.” You started to reach for it once more, before you felt a shiver go up your spine, and your consciousness slowly left you.

꧁꧂

“... -Lo?”

You think you heard yourself groan, trying to make whatever the hell was speaking go away.

“... Are you alive?” That voice… sounded way too familiar.

The connection hit you and you shot up and shrieked, leading the person in front of you to scream as well - no, not person, _character._ With your mild haziness and infinite wisdom, you decided to let out the most eloquent statement you could, “What the fuck are you doing here?” Straightening himself out, the man you were praying was just a really accurate Headmaster Crowley cosplayer spoke, “Me? Why, I am the headmaster of Night Raven College, I belong here. I believe I should be asking why you are here, if anything.” If this was all an elaborate prank, then whoever this was really put their all into it.

You stood up from your spot on the floor and made your way over to a small chair within his office. Normally you would’ve asked before copping a seat, but you were way too confused and stressed out to even fathom the idea. “My name is ____, and I would absolutely kill for an explanation as to why I’m here.” Crowley looked as if he took your “kill” slightly too seriously for a moment before clearing his throat and trying to explain in a way that didn’t make both you and him seem completely insane. “I’m afraid I don’t know all that much in regards to your sudden appearance either. I was sitting here at my desk, doing paperwork as any respectable and responsible headmaster would-” You felt as though “respectable” and “responsible” weren’t exactly the right words to describe him, “-when suddenly you showed up right before my very eyes. Assuming one of those troublesome first years had decided to play a prank, I came over to scold you but realized you were unconscious, completely immobile! Surely if someone who wasn’t as kind as myself were to find you, they would have kicked you right out but I, of course, would do no such thing.” _This dude sure loves to blow smoke up his own ass, huh?_

Regardless of how much truth his statement held, it was painfully obvious that you were powerless in this situation. You spotted your backpack on the ground and felt slightly more at peace, hoping some of your items from home would make you feel a little better. “Well, in that case Mr.-” “Headmaster.” “... Headmaster Crowley, sir, I believe I am with a capital F ‘Fucked’ right about now.” He cringed for a moment (because of your language, you assumed) before he closed his eyes and nodded to himself. “Yes, yes, it would seem as such. Though the entrance was different, you appear to be in the same circumstances as the Ramshackle Dorm prefect.” Your eyes widened at that statement. The protagonist of the game was here? With you? 

Crowley took notice of your expression and became curious. Surely you couldn’t know Yuu? He assumed you were just surprised someone else had this happen to them as well and continued on with his speech. “However! Because I am so kind, I will allow you to visit the mirror and see if there is magic within you. In the event you possess no such thing,” he coughed into his glove, “We shall deal with that issue when it arises.”

A heavy weight made a home within your stomach. There’s no way in hell you’d pass the mirror’s examination. Then what would happen? You didn’t have an animal companion like Grimm that could be half a student with you. Would Crowley just boot your sorry ass on the street? You couldn’t exactly deny his request to see the mirror, so you sighed and picked up your backpack. Chanting to yourself that everything would be okay as you followed Crowley, you heard a _ping!_ come from your bag. Reaching in to grab your phone (which you were amazed still even worked), you groaned out loud at the notification it gave you, feeling as if the universe was just making fun of you at this point.

  
**_Twisted Wonderland:_ ** _Your AP has refilled!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for joining me on this horrible journey! world hopping is my favorite trope or whatever of fic and i decided there isn't enough of it and now we're here. reader falls into twisted wonderland at about the middle of the savanaclaw chapter and thus knows about the upcoming events and can maybe intervene if that's how shit's gonna go. also the fact you'd have wifi and nothing would be busted is totally unrealistic but it's MY fic and i make the rules so i don't care. i do vaguely have an idea for who the endgame relationship is but i like ~drama~ so i couldn't not involve a few characters. 
> 
> all that's to say i hope you all enjoy whatever the fuck i decide to slap onto my keys in the upcoming chapters!  
> (yes i did rip the title from my favorite [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2oLSuongkY) which everyone should be legally required to listen to. it doesn't apply to the story... yet.... but it's still literally god's voice) 
> 
> little extra thing - on my tumblr i usually put down what songs i listened to while writing. they don't necessarily always fit the mood or whatever but i think it's fun so i'll do it here too!
> 
> songs:  
> [zettai zetsumei - co shu nie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZ9qdr5WcPY)  
> [ex:tella - elisa](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRo83JZdc8Q)  
> [yoshiwara lament - mike enjouji (cv: ono yuuki)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEXMHq45okM)


	2. "psychic" is a generous term

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> if nothing else, it couldn't get worse than this... right?

To the mirror chamber’s credit, the game didn’t do it nearly enough justice.

It was an obscenely large space filled with all sorts of magical trinkets and artifacts that would probably cost at least two of your limbs. The grandiose (bordering on gaudy) windows let in an eerie sort of light, one that seemed otherworldly at the very least. The lanterns lit up the room just enough to see, but still allowed for an ominous setting. The large mirror was surrounded by a circle of coffins and floating perfectly centered on it’s own.

The entire room scared the living daylights out of you. 

Crowley had sent for the dorm leaders on your way here, and five of them currently resided in the room. You safely assumed Idia decided not to show up, and that Lilia probably took Malleus’ place like in the prologue. But in that case, who wasn’t here? One of the cloaked figures spoke up and answered your question for you. “Ah, Headmaster Crowley, Vil said he had some more important matters he had to attend to and didn’t show up.” Well, not too big of a loss. You doubted you’d be sorted into Pomefiore anyway, if you were sorted at all. 

The voice sounded painfully similar to Azul that you had no choice but to believe it was him. You were _so_ having a talk with whatever higher being decided to pull this nonsense on you.

Next to you, Crowley sighed and nodded his head. “I suppose I can’t do much about that. Now, come forth,” he paused for a moment, “What did you say your name is?” _I just told you like ten minutes ago, dude._ “My name is still ____.” You walked forward towards the mirror, looking around to try and gauge the expressions of the characters around you. You had already decided that telling them you played the game they were from religiously was most likely a bad idea and would probably get you kicked out faster than you could blink. The next best course of action was just to play dumb and act like Yuu did. 

Riddle looked expectant, like someone getting their own solo dorm assignment meant they were destined for great things. Leona exuded boredom, which was to be expected. You probably interrupted his nap or something along the lines of that. Azul looked like he was ready to put a scorpion down your shirt, his smug grin seeming to hold more secrets than you could ever hope to know. Kalim was rocking back and forth on his feet, the prospect of a new face clearly being exciting to him. You were right about Lilia taking Malleus’ place, and the fact that he was here at all scared you. If anyone could call bullshit on whatever you were gonna try and feed to the people around you - it was him. 

You stood directly in front of the mirror and tried not to let all this intimidate you. The worst that could happen is it tells you the same thing it told Yuu and you’re just miserably embarrassed for the rest of the day. No big deal, right?

Green smoke billowed around you as the mask within the mirror came into view. The gaps where it’s eyes should’ve been seemed to stare deep within to your very soul, creating a sense of paranoia within you. You tried to steady your breathing as it began to speak. “Speak thy name.” _I already told Crowley, weren’t you listening?_ “____.” It stilled for a moment before talking once more. “The shape of thy soul is…

… I do not know.”

A multitude of things happened in that moment.

You saw Crowley start twitching from the corner of your eye, most likely because this was happening _again_. Riddle and Leona both looked insanely annoyed that they were dragged out for nothing. Azul’s smile fell a bit but it was obvious this was amusing to both him and Lilia, with the latter starting to giggle at the situation before them. Kalim seemed completely unbothered, his more genuine smile still on his face as he questioned Crowley. “That’s fine, isn’t it? They can just stay with Prefect Yuu!” 

Crowley began to rub his temples to calm his irritability. “Residence is not a problem, my boy. The fact another magicless student has somehow made their way into Night Raven College is the problem.” Leona let out a humorless laugh before busting out the insults. “Another useless herbivore, huh? Seems the school will become a joke at this rate.” Something in his tone of voice really ticked you off, so badly in fact your mouth spoke before your brain could. “I’m not magicless!”

Your statement grabbed the interest of everyone in the room, the implication that the mirror was wrong seeming to be a little too ludicrous to believe. Azul, ever too eager to find out more info about anything he could, jumped at the opportunity. “Oh? Care to tell us what it is you can do then?” _Don’t fuck this up, don’t fuck this up, don’t fuck this up-_

“I’m a psychic!”

_Wow. That is literally the worst possible thing I could’ve said._

The saccharine grin was completely wiped off of Azul’s face as he was clearly not expecting an answer like that to come from you. Everyone else in the room was stunned to the point where you could’ve heard a pin drop perfectly clear. 

Crowley was the first to recover from your outburst. He stuttered for a moment before laughing nervously and clearing his throat, “A wonderful joke, young one. Now if you could let us all know what your actual magic is, we can move forward.” _Hey,_ you thought, _if I’m gonna lie I might as well go all out._ “I’m dead serious.” You saw a flash of movement to your left before turning and getting a face full of octopus. “This… this is truly incredible! Such magic is barely heard of, especially not in NRC. I believe a contract is in order.” _Like hell it is!_

His rambling was stopped by a very clearly doubtful Riddle. “Azul, don’t you think it’s plausible they could be lying? The mirror very clearly stated they’re magicless.” He turned to stare you down. “Lying about magical abilities blatantly breaks the Law of the Queen of H-” “Now, now, Rosehearts. Surely there’s a way for this young mage to prove their powers, is there not?” Riddle was clearly displeased about Lilia interrupting him, but held enough respect for the older student not to talk back. Lilia then started to come towards you, and despite his lack of height it was single handedly the most terrifying moment of the day. If you could somehow manage to bamboozle Lilia, you damn might as well be magical. 

His fangs were visible as he grinned towards you. Seriously, what was with these dudes and evil smiles? “This shouldn’t be too difficult, correct? If you could possibly indulge us in some information not known to the common folk, then this issue will be solved quite quickly.” He was right, but the issue is you had no clue what part of the timeline you were in. Yuu was already an established figure, but there was no way to tell if anyone had overblotted yet. Telling an event from the future could possibly throw off the entire story, and you’d rather not mess up the reality of another dimension. So, you improvised. “What would you like to know?” 

Lilia hummed for a moment, before offering up a suggestion that would totally make the room awkward. “In that case, would you care to inform us of Riddle’s final words after his overblot?” You could see the aforementioned Riddle slowly turning into a cherry tomato behind Lilia, but this at the very least provided you with the information that the Heartslabyul conflict has already been settled.

You deeply inhaled and closed your eyes. You had re-read this translation about fifty times over, the substance of it hitting a really personal part of you. You weren’t sure if you were gonna get this word for word, but anything close should be enough to convince them. “...I was… wrong…? That’s not true… Is it…? Mother…” 

Lilia’s mouth went from smug to fascinated and poor Riddle looked like he was ready to die on the spot. Kalim bounced over to bombard Riddle on whether or not what you said was correct, and with his reluctant confirmation that yes, those were his last words, the entire room looked at you in awe. A small noise of approval came from Leona, with a “Well I’ll be damned,” to boot. Azul really looked like he just hit the jackpot and had to be borderline dragged away from you by Lilia and Kalim. Crowley’s face now exuded pride, as if he had plucked you off the side of the road and enrolled you in NRC himself. “A change of events, truly! Apologies to our dear mirror, but it seems you were in the wrong this time.” The smoky green mask came in the view once more, and when it looked right into your eyes you could’ve sworn he had straight up told you _I know you’re a fraud._

“However, this does still leave the issue of where you’ll be residing. Such rare magical abilities can only mean you belong somewhere like Diasomnia-” _Absolutely not._ “I wanna be in Ramshackle!” Were the other dorms better from a physical standpoint? No question about it. It was the fact you’d be surrounded by _actual_ magical students 24/7 that would be the death of you. The chance they’d expect more demonstrations of your “powers” meant that them finding out there was no such thing would be way more likely. You doubted that Yuu would hound you about magical abilities, and you could shut Grim down pretty easily if need be.

Crowley looked as if he desperately wanted to disagree and shove you somewhere else, but he complied nonetheless. “Then it is so! I appoint you as the new vice dorm leader of Ramshackle.” He gazed for a moment before questioning you about something he probably should’ve done earlier, “... How old may you be?” 

Ignoring Riddle’s indignant cry of “You’re just asking that _now?!”_ , you let him know you were a second year. He sat for a moment and proceeded to offer you the position of dorm leader, which you quickly shot down. Not only had Yuu been here longer, but you were just as magicless as they were in actuality - plus who _knows_ how badly that would fuck the timeline up?

With a swoosh of his cape, Crowley declared you an official student of NRC as the group of you exited the mirror chamber. Most of the dorm leaders had something to say to you as they went back to their respective halls - Kalim asking you to come visit Scarabia for a party or two, Azul hoping you two would be able to sort out a contract soon, and Riddle giving a small “Hmph” before going back to Heartslabyul. You couldn’t really blame him for being a little upset with you - reliving his overblot probably wasn’t the most pleasant thing.

It was Lilia though, who specifically pulled you aside for a conversation. “In my many, many years, rarely have I seen an ability to offer wisdom such as this.” He gave you direct eye contact, and you felt as if you could see the toll that an insanely long life has taken on him. “I hope nothing puts you in harms way.”

All you could offer was a nervous laugh and a nod of your head before he went back to Diasomnia. You finally felt as if you could relax your shoulders after what felt like an eternity, and turned towards the direction of your temporary home while you were stuck here.

Time to meet your new roommate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would say "i didn't mean to make this long" but let's get real i have no plans when i write most of this. thank you for reading chapter two and i hope you enjoyed!
> 
> songs:  
> [mechanized memories ~in the end~ - freQuency](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBmPvWyQ-HY)  
> [anone ganbare! - lily white](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPkgA4Frqnw)  
> [welcome to the *fam - egoist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ThouSKChVo)


	3. octopus therapy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you were probably being too up-front, but somebody had to let this boy know people loved him

Flopping onto the bed of your newly appointed dorm room, you screamed into the pillow so loudly that Yuu probably thought someone showed up to murder you. A knock came from your door and you yelled out “I’m fine! Just having an existential crisis!” before you heard them say they hope you feel better and then walking away.

The meeting between you two went about as well as you could’ve hoped. Upon your arrival at the front door of the Ramshackle dorm, Yuu welcomed you with open arms. They absolutely understood your situation and how stressful it felt. You had became acquainted with Grim and tried your best not to show visible annoyance over the fact all he did was screw Yuu over in the story. 

Figuring it was safer to ask questions that seemed slightly out of the ordinary to Yuu rather than the dorm leaders, you got your answers in regards to a sort of timeline. It was early October as of now and you were smack dab in the middle of Savanaclaw’s episode. Yuu and Grim went into detail about these “shady twins” they had fought with earlier and you were hoping your phone would let you Google what the upcoming chapters held for you - it wasn’t like you had the entire main story memorized. 

Crowley had so _graciously_ loaned you some Madol to survive for a few days and your first order of business with it was to stop by the Mostro Lounge tomorrow to try and get to know Azul and the Leech twins better. You felt as though you were too far into the current episode to change much of anything, but maybe forming a friendship with them might help soften what would happen in Octavinelle’s chapter. Using your “psychic” powers to do so might be a little scummy, but those three aren’t exactly saints either.

Plugging your phone into the wall (thank God this place wasn’t too old for power outlets) and taking a small stuffed Shiba Inu plush from your backpack, you settled in for the night. You had to plan all this carefully - whatever _this_ was. Getting directly involved in Yuu’s current conflicts was a complete no-go, but trying to create your own story would be fun in itself, wouldn’t it?

꧁꧂

Exiting Crowley’s office the next afternoon, you checked the time on your phone and headed over to Octavinelle’s dorm. You had begged the man that very morning to give a few days off before starting school, “getting used to the atmosphere” and “my powers are out of whack from being teleported here” your main excuses for such. Whether he felt bad for you or was just really annoyed with your whining was unknown, but he obliged and stated you wouldn’t be attending any classes until the following week. 

You were never a huge fan of the ocean, but the entirety of Octavinelle’s dorm was breathtaking. Seeing exotic aquatic life right before your very eyes was something you’d never forget, even when you went back home. Despite the shady doings of it’s prefect, the actual dorm itself held a very relaxed mood. If the concept of Floyd hunting you down for sport while Azul and Jade try to suck your childhood secrets from you wasn’t petrifying then you probably would’ve asked to stay here.

Also the fact you weren’t part fish.

Once you entered the lounge, you knew you probably wouldn’t wanna leave. Soft jazz music accompanied the laughter of students at each table. Trying not to think about how many of the servers here were stuck under Azul’s control, you spotted Jade behind one of the counters. _Inhale, exhale, he probably won’t eat you._

Walking up to the counter and willing yourself not to turn around and haul ass out of there, Jade looked up to see you coming towards him. He smiled in his mildly unsettling way and greeted you. “Welcome to the Mostro Lounge. Is there anything I can get you?” God, the fact you knew so much about him and he didn’t even know your name was really weird. “I’m actually here to see Azul, is he around at all?” 

That piqued his interest, as most potential clients of Azul’s did. “Apologies, but he’s quite busy right now. I can pass a message along if you so desire.” _Alright then, Plan B it was._ “Actually, can you go into his office and let him know ____ wants to talk to him? I’m pretty sure he’ll wanna see me.”

Jade’s eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn’t heard your name from Azul’s mouth before, yet you seemed so confident that Azul wanted your time. Jade motioned to his brother who was across the lounge to come over. Floyd followed suit and paused when he caught sight of you. “Huuuh? Who are you? Didja come here for some funnn~?” Christ on a stick, he was way more intimidating than you expected.

“Floyd,” Jade’s sharp voice cut off any chance of further conversing. “We have to speak with Azul.” Floyd let out a slight groan before giving you a sharp toothed smile and going towards the office. Jade looked at you once more before departing. “A moment, if you would please.”

Considering you had all day to think about this plan, you had a whole lot of nothing in terms of ideas. What even was the goal here? ‘Hey Azul, make sure you don’t overblot in a month or two when your years of planning all goes to shit!’ Yeah, like he wouldn’t send your ass to a psych ward for that one. You supposed the best course of action was just to be gentle with him, try to relate if anything. Having someone to confide in without any strings attached would do him good, and if nothing else you were perfectly equipped to handle any info that came your way - you already knew it all.

The door to Azul’s office shook for a second before the man himself all but ripped it off the hinges. He probably wasn’t expecting you to show up anytime soon after your complete lack of interest yesterday and you were sure the concept of gaining control of your “psychic powers” had him ready to offer up one of the Leech twins themselves as trade. 

“____! Welcome to the Mostro Lounge.” He came over and ushered you into his office. “I’m thrilled that you seemed to change your mind about a deal between the two of us.” If Azul could sense how stressed out the current situation made you, he chose not to comment on it.

Jade wished you two happy business before closing the door, his gaze lingering on you for just a beat too long past comfortable. You took a seat in front of Azul’s desk as he sat behind it, positively beaming at the fact you were seemingly here to conduct business. You thought for a moment on what you were going to say before he beat you to the punch. “Tell me, what are we here to discuss? I assure you I’ll do anything in my power to assist you - for a small price, of course.” 

_Shady is as shady does._ It was hard to figure out how to come off as more helpful than invasive, but with just enough force so he wouldn’t brush you off or kick you out. “I’m not here for the reason you think I am,” You saw his eyebrow lift slightly at that statement. “I’m here for you.” 

He was motionless for a moment, gauging to see if this was some sort of joke or not. You couldn’t deny the reason you were here at all is because of the soft spot you held for Azul. The chance of you doing this for someone like Leona or Vil was slim to none. 

He let out a soft sigh before speaking, “If you’re here to comment on my methods or something along those lines, it isn’t needed. I’m perfectly happy with things as they are now.”

“Are you truly happy?”

Woah. You weren’t even planning to say that, but you couldn’t help it. This boy had probably ever felt genuinely at peace very few times in his life. He himself looked slightly bewildered at how blunt your statement was, but you couldn’t really fault him for that. He knew nothing about you except for your name - and that probably drove him up a wall. 

Well, if you were gonna do this, might as well go all out. “I can feel something seriously dark within you Azul. I can’t exactly place it, but I’m worried for you. Keeping to yourself for so long will only cause it all to come crumbling down one day, and I don’t want to see you hurt by the end of it.”

Azul was completely speechless. When was the last time someone had spoken to him with such genuine care for his well being?

“Maybe I’m overstepping, and I’m really sorry if I am, but I can tell there’s parts of us that are the same. You don’t know much about me and it’s unfair of me to invade like this, but I want to tell you the one thing that could’ve changed me when I was younger if someone had bothered to try and help me.

I’m so proud of you, Azul.”

…

Maybe that was a little heavy.

Azul could feel his crybaby roots coming back up. He was so good at reading people and yet here you were throwing it all for a loop. He had never spoken to someone at NRC without them wanting something in return but it was clear you had nothing to gain from this conversation. You were here because you saw something he couldn’t, and while it ate away at Azul that you were beating him at his own game, something shifted within his chest at your words. What was there to be proud of? Surely not his underhanded tactics or the reputation he made for himself. Were you proud for no other fact than he was here, he was himself? Was the care you held for him more than his own parents had ever shown?

You could see Azul’s internal debate from your seat. That was way too much for a guy who had spent all of ten minutes with you, but it was so hard not to just let him know someone was here for him. If you could just get Azul to see there was still something good for him in the world, maybe the tug on his heart would ease ever so slightly.

You stood from your chair, what you needed to do now finished. Azul was looking at his desk, unable to make eye contact. You decided to let one more piece out before taking your leave. “I didn’t come to take advantage of you or sign a contract. I came because if you ever need someone to confide in, if you ever need a _friend_ , I’d be more than happy to fill that slot.” 

Turning and walking towards the door, you figured you’d let him cry in peace. It was impossible to tell how much impact one conversation would have on him, but you hoped it would at the very least make him consider putting his trust on you.

You closed the door on your way out as Jade and Floyd looked towards you exiting. You made eye contact with Jade and gave him a small, sweet smile - something he clearly wasn’t expecting. On your way out, you let Jade know to check up on Azul and make sure he’d be okay before finally exiting the Mostro Lounge. When Jade followed your advice and opened Azul’s office door just a crack, he saw his friend sobbing into his desk, his shoulders trembling as anguished cries came from his mouth. The sight left Jade unnerved. What could you have possibly done to get such a reaction from Azul?

Jade closed the door and looked towards the direction you had left. The smallest of smirks made its way onto his face before he let out a small noise of interest. Clearly, you were a way bigger force to be reckoned with than he initially thought. 

“A new student, hm?” 

This year just got even more interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [slaps six pages of internalized trauma onto my laptop] how's it hanging guys?
> 
> in all seriousness i didn't really expect this to be so deep. i wanted to fuck around with azul's brain just a smidge and got this instead. would he actually cry over something like this? who knows! but i get the sense nobody ever even tried to understand him and show him gratefulness for just being him so you folks get this. thank you for reading chapter three!
> 
> songs:  
> [bb channel ~fgo~ - james harris ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW01hH4sVRA)  
> [keppekishou - kippei uwajima (cv: shuuta morishima)](https://akikamitsuki.tumblr.com/post/625127499685314560/clean-freak-by-scop-feat-kippei-uwajima-cv)  
> 


	4. the psychic who cried hyena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> making new friends was always fun. it was a little less fun when most of these friends would launch fireworks at your house for a good laugh.

Your first order of business upon exiting Octavinelle’s dorm and going to the main part of campus was to scream at the absolute top of your lungs over how horrifically personal and nosy you acted towards Azul about ten minutes ago. 

Doing so is also how you met one Ruggie Bucchi. 

“Yikes! There’s people with sensitive ears around here y’know.”

Turning around with a guilty smile on your face, you apologized for hurting his ears as he waved it off. You went to try and make some casual conversation before remembering something Yuu talked to you about this morning. Apparently they were going to ask Jamil today about an accident that happened in the kitchen yesterday, which perfectly let you know exactly what day it was. You prayed the chase scene with Ruggie happened already and tried to go off that entire ordeal. “Were you the guy I saw hauling ass and getting chased earlier?”

He sighed before going into detail, much to your relief. If you were wrong about that, you could’ve seriously fucked up the story. “Ah, yeah. That was me. Those guys were a real annoyance. If they’re gonna try and hunt me down they could at least make it difficult.” He eyed you for a moment. “I don’t remember seeing you though.” Couldn’t he be a tiny bit  _ less  _ observant? 

“I was a little bit away but it’s kinda hard to miss an entire group of students bolting through campus.”  _ Okay, now try and get him to introduce himself.  _ “I’m ___ by the way. I was only here earlier cause I’m still trying to figure out the layout of things around NRC.” You saw his ears perk up at that statement and tried not to freak it over how cute it was. “You new ‘round here? This late in the year?”  _ Wasn’t exactly by choice buddy. _

You nodded and vaguely explained the whole ‘no clue why you’re here but you are and you gotta make the best of it’ situation. He didn’t have to know you weren’t technically from Twisted Wonderland, just that you weren’t planning on being at NRC. Besides, there was really no point in hiding it from him - it would probably come out sooner or later. It was discussion of your supposed ‘unique magic’ that really got him going. 

“Man, something like that coulda really been useful back home. Lots of kids would’ve avoided a ton of trouble.” You nodded in understanding. You weren’t from the slums, but your family had frequent money scares as a kid. Even now, you often worried about day to day funds regardless of how much better things were. “You’re from the slums, right?” He looked surprised for a split second before assuming you used your power to figure it out, “Sure am. Wasn’t always easy down there. You wouldn’t believe how much trouble we used to get in when we’d steal food from the stores and sellers on the main street.” You’d never done it yourself, but it isn’t impossible to imagine. If anything, now was a good time to try and sympathize with Ruggie’s past.

“I know how it feels, dude. Freaking out over if my mom was gonna have anything to eat for dinner that night, trying to make every last cent stretch as far as possible. Hard to break those habits from when I was a kid.” The expression on his face clearly told you he wasn’t expecting you to understand where he came from. It was quiet for a moment before he tried to read you. Most of the people here had some sort of agenda, a plan. You though - you were just here for the sake of being here. Surely someone like that…

He looked behind himself before turning back to you. “I gotta go help out Leona but… you should come by Savanaclaw sometime. You ain’t half bad.” He gave one last grin before starting to go back to his dorm. “I’m Ruggie, by the way. Ruggie Bucchi.”

You gave an enthusiastic wave as you watched him go. 

“Nice to meet you, Ruggie!”

꧁꧂

_ Note to self: set an alarm when you plan to take a nap. _

_ Secondary note to self: actually plan out your naps instead of crashing without realizing it. _

Fixing your bed-head in the mirror and checking the time on your phone (around 6 in the evening), you left through the door to Ramshackle, saying goodbye to the ghosts of course, before going outside and realizing you had no idea where the cafeteria was. Seriously, they needed one of those amusement park type maps for this damn school. 

Yuu had given you Deuce’s phone number last night when you arrived since they didn’t have their own phone yet, but you weren’t even sure if it’d work here - and if it did then the international call fee would probably be astronomical. Plus, Deuce didn’t have the slightest clue about who you were.

“Hello?”

God, this was gonna be awkward. “Hey there! So uh… I’m Yuu’s dormmate and they don’t really have a phone right now and I was just wondering if they’re with you at all?” “Ah, yeah. Hold on.” You heard the sound of Deuce pulling his phone away from his ears and the smallest bit of conversation - the words “dormmate?” and “secret” being a part of that - before Yuu’s voice filled your ears. “___? Is everything okay?”

Was this the tiniest bit embarrassing? Probably, but you were way too hungry to care. “I’m starving and have no fucking clue where the cafeteria is in this place, dude.” Yuu let a small laugh out before saying they were actually there with a few of their friends right now. They gave you some directions and you thanked them before hanging up and making the small trek there. 

You started wondering if you’d see any other prominent characters while you were at dinner. You weren’t even sure which of them actually ate in the school’s cafeteria as opposed to the Mostro Lounge or in their own dorm halls. Even if they  _ were _ to be eating in the same area as you it isn’t as if you could just waltz up to their table and demand them to start being your friend. If not suspicious then it would just come off as downright creepy.

The first thing you noticed once you arrived is that it was just as rowdy and unruly as any high school cafeteria. You’d barely made it through the doorway before two boys in Savanaclaw uniforms nearly mowed you down. Were all of them except Ruggie horrifyingly tall?

Hearing Yuu call out your name, you turned to see them smiling and waving you over to a table with Deuce, Ace… and Riddle? Was that normal? He seemed as if he was ready to pop a blood vessel with how out-of-sorts the entire room was. You tried to appear friendly as you walked over in hopes that he wouldn’t blow his lid - you weren’t exactly sure if he was still annoyed at you for quoting his post-overblot state.

“Hi everyone! My name i-” “I hope you’re aware your choice of clothing goes against one of the Laws of the Queen of Hearts.” Alright yeah, he was still mad. Thankfully, Deuce spoke up for you, “But they’re not in Heartslabyul, so it shouldn’t be an issue, right?” You smiled sheepishly before Riddle sighed and responded with, “I suppose so.”

You took a seat at the table as Yuu properly introduced you to their friends. Deuce said that your phone call to him was no big deal, as, “Any friend of Prefect Yuu is a friend of mine.” Ace seemed a little more prickly at first but if you could look past the fact he has his head up his own ass, he really isn’t that bad. Yuu gently coaxed Riddle into being less sharp with you since the whole conversation you had with the dorm leaders wasn’t really your fault. You’d discussed your entire magic mirror debacle with Yuu and they said Riddle wasn’t much to worry about - he’s pretty kind once you get past that exterior of his. “Well,” they added in as a second thought, “after he calmed down from his overblot I should say. He was a sort of cruel guy before that.” You were just happy you didn’t arrive in the middle of the Heartslabyul conflict, lest Riddle _ actually _ take off your head. 

Yuu slid you over a bowl of pasta, some apple juice and a cookie that you had asked them to grab you over the phone. You’d have to thank them for being such a sweetheart when you weren’t shoving food down your gullet. The table continued talking about their day and the event they had with Ruggie (after Yuu assured the other members of the table that you were completely trustworthy - which seemed a bit naive on their part in all honesty) when you heard an upbeat cry of your name.

“___!!! I didn’t know you were here!”

Kalim bounced over to you guys, Jamil in tow. Ace and Deuce looked a little shocked that he approached the table so casually, and as if you two were close as well. “I met him in the mirror chamber when I first got here,” you explained.

The Scarabia dorm leader looked tickled pink to see you again, not that he wasn’t friendly with pretty much everyone. “Jamil, this is the psychic I was telling you about!” Alright. Maybe a little too friendly.

You saw Ace nearly break his neck turning towards you as Deuce started coughing on some sort of dessert. Closing your eyes and rubbing your temples, you tried to chide the boy in a more subdued manner than normal. “Kalim, that isn’t exactly information I want spreading through the school.” You looked straight into his eye to try and get your point across, “There’s probably a good chunk of people who would try and take advantage of me if they knew, and God only knows how far they’d go to get what they wanted.” 

Maybe you were just overly paranoid, but you couldn’t help but feel like you’d stared at Jamil a little too long after explaining. His face twitched slightly as if you knew exactly what he was planning a few months from now, which in fairness you totally did - just not in the way he thought.

Kalim let out an apologetic laugh before trying to remedy the situation. You assured him you weren’t upset, just watching out for yourself. He leaned onto the table with his elbows and you saw Riddle try not to have an aneurism over the improper posture. “So, whatcha guys up to?”

The five of you glanced at each other for a moment before Riddle spoke up, “Just discussing tomorrow’s Magishift tournament. Shouldn’t you be doing the same?” Kalim gave a carefree smile before going into how Scarabia’s placement in the Magishift didn’t really bother him all that much. The eye contact you made with Jamil after he said this was totally unintentional, but there’s no way in hell someone as observant as him didn’t take notice of it. The chance that he knew that  _ you  _ knew something was up just got even higher. 

After a few more moments of light chatting with the two, they made their way back to the table. Jamil paused and turned back for a moment. “I hope the kitchen details I gave you earlier were helpful. If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to come visit Scarabia’s dorm.” His words were kind, but the look he gave you afterwards was anything but. Yeah, you were totally fucked.

Once they departed, Ace and Deuce looked like wild beasts ready to jump at you. “Psychic?! Like ‘future and crystal ball’ type psychic?” Ace questioned. You almost wanted to shut him down completely given that the chance of him blabbing to someone was pretty decent. 

“Okay, first of all, no crystal ball. That’s tacky and I don’t need one. Second of all, past, present  _ and  _ future, thank you very much.” You put a hand up once Ace’s mouth opened again, “And no, I won’t go into detail about future events. Doing that can mess up the timeline and cause them to change completely. Unless it’s a life or death situation, you’re not getting anything from me.” This excuse would minimize the chances of people bombarding you for future predictions at the very least. 

Ace leaned back and pouted a bit, mumbling about how lame it was that you wouldn’t tell him. “If you won’t bother to tell us the future, then you’re probably not even a real psychic.” Your eyes narrowed slightly at this statement. Racking your head for some bits and pieces you read from the wiki and fan translations, you tried to retaliate and prove him wrong (even though he technically wasn’t.)

“Hm? In that case, I could tell your older brother about how childish you’re acting. You know, that older brother of yours who used to go here? He probably wouldn’t like the fact you’re treating Heartslabyul’s name so poorly.”

Ace tried to sputter out a response as a small smirk appeared on Riddle’s face and Yuu gave a slightly sympathetic giggle. “You kinda asked for that one, Ace.” He composed himself before trying to defend his honor whilst also deciding not to mention that he was completely wrong about you. Deuce on the other hand gazed in awe before asking you a slew of questions about your magic ability. Hoping that vague and slightly bullshit responses would appease him, you gave back answers as fast as possible before telling Yuu that you were headed back to the dorm to sort out the rest of the things from your backpack and asking if Sam’s store was still open. Deuce let you know it didn’t close until 8 and you thanked him, waving goodbye to your new friends and telling them it was nice to meet them all.

You let out a small sigh of relief once you exited through the doors. Trying to keep this act up was proving to be slightly more tough than you originally expected. Maybe Crowley would accept “talking to literally anyone about my powers throws them out of whack” as an excuse for everyone to leave you alone.

“Something on your mind?”

You let out a terrified shriek before turning around and being faced with six feet and two inches of distrustworthy eel. All he did was offer a close eyed smile in return as you frantically looked around the hallway for other signs of life. Jade was incredibly high up on the “people I would never want to be alone with” list that you started to create when you arrived here. 

“Oh uh, nothing much. Just the old stressed out new student feelings, ahaha…” your laugh was more to convince yourself nothing was wrong than him. He placed a hand on his chin and showed off all his sharp teeth in a way that was subtly threatening in a best case scenario - you didn’t even wanna think about the worst case. 

Opening his eyes, he gave a coy smile before reacting to your “worries”, “Oh? In that case feel free to ask me any questions you might have.” You liked it better when he wasn’t looking at you. “Although, I have some questions of my own I’d like to ask you about first - such as how you managed to leave our Prefect in such a pitiful state after your visit.”

You thought hard for a few seconds before deciding there were two ways this could go. One, you play it off as nothing serious and risk him hounding you for answers for an undetermined amount of time. Two, you try and gain some semblance of an upper hand by letting him know how powerful you were. Okay well, powerful was maybe not the best term considering him or his brother could most likely turn you into paste if they so desired, but more so that whatever nonsense and tricks he’d try to pull wouldn’t fly with you.

“If you’re so curious about it then go ask him yourself. Don’t try shocking my heart either, it won’t work.” The look on his face was completely wiped for one of bemusement instead. He kept his unique magic under tight wraps - nobody except Azul, Jade and some of the faculty even knew what it was. So how in the world were you even remotely aware of it?

Feeling just a tad overconfident, you turned away to go finish the tasks you currently had on hand, sparing one last glance over your shoulder. “It’s hard to hide things from a psychic, Jade.” 

A foreign feeling coursed through Jade’s blood as he watched you continue on your way. Challenges like this rarely appeared for someone as conniving as him, and the fact you were able to face him like he meant absolutely nothing to you… it was  _ exhilarating.  _ He made a decision right then and there.

Jade would dissect every single part of your mind even if it killed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [insert obligatory "i didn't plan on making it this long" statement] i got slightly emotional writing ruggie's part because i just love my boy so damn much. also i so hope i captured jade's shadiness well enough. he makes me wanna commit a felony but like in a good way.
> 
> thank you as always for reading! (p.s. - unlike normally, i think these two songs are actually pretty okay with the chapter mood. or maybe i'm just nuts.)
> 
> songs:  
> [yuukyuu no catharsis - z23 (cv: rika abe)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI35r0GB2ig)  
> [tonight stars an easygoing egoist (live version) ~ egoistic flowers - zun](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr39Uk3Kd4g)  
> 


	5. the price of friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> solving problems was yuu's job, not yours

“...And if I EVER catch you trying to sneak into my room again then I promise I will drop your ass off at the nearest cat shelter.”

Ignoring Grim’s cries about him not being a cat, you kicked him out of your dorm room after he woke you up by trying to enter. You have no idea what he wanted, and frankly you didn’t care. Regardless of what it was you were wide awake now and your brain clearly had no plans of letting you get back to sleep any time soon. 

Checking your phone and seeing it was nearly midnight, you sighed and put on a pair of slippers that were hanging around your room. Yuu seemed to be pretty safe whenever they went outside in the game, so it wasn’t unreasonable to think you would be as well. Maybe it would scare you shitless and you’d pass out, which counts as going back to bed as far as you were concerned. 

You tried to exit the Ramshackle dorm as quietly as possible but the insanely old and creaky floorboards had no intention of letting you do so. You just hoped Yuu was a heavy sleeper. 

If nothing else, the air outside seemed a million times crisper and more fresh than in the day. Whether it was your imagination or some sort of magic effect was unknown, but it felt relaxing anyway. Making sure to stay near some of the lamps that made it so you weren’t in the pitch dark, you slowly walked down the stone path outside of your dorm hall. Thoughts of upcoming events ran a marathon in your head and left you feeling restless. Trying to help alter the storyline to avoid overblotting and such was probably a good thing to do but at the same time this wasn’t really your world to tamper with in the first place. It’s not like morality was the end-all in Twisted Wonderland - NRC was literally a villain school for God’s sake.

Your train of thought was stopped short by a movement to your left and you immediately debated on which way to run like your ass was on fire. This motherfucker was  _ tall  _ and… had horns?

_ Oh my God.  _

You were awestruck as the person came up towards you, obviously curious about why you were roaming around so late at night. Your sleep deprived state did you no favors as you spoke without thinking and let out an impeccable bout of wisdom.

“Holy shit, you’re Malleus.”

The fae in front of you looked completely unimpressed with your statement as he raised an eyebrow and tried to continue the conversation. “Yes, that would be me. May I ask who you are and why you’re so close to the Child of Man’s dorm?” Yikes, protective much? You knew that Malleus and Yuu had a good relationship since they were pretty much the only non-Diasomnia student who wasn’t petrified of him, but he could’ve said that a tiny bit nicer. Also, didn’t they just meet? Talk about weird.

You really shouldn’t be let out of your room while you were running off of an hour of sleep and a whole lot of spite because you just kept belting out winner’s today. “I’m Yuu’s dormmate, you dense ass dragon. Any more stupid questions or are you just gonna hover around here like a stalker?” You prayed to about 16 different deities after that comment because you were a rough 197% sure he was gonna murder you on the spot for your attitude towards him. 

Thankfully, you seemed to be a breath of fresh air compared to everyone else he spent his time with. He stared at you wide-eyed for a few beats before letting out a mildly unsettling string of laughs. You let out a breath that you weren’t even aware you had been holding and thanked whoever was listening for letting you live to see another day. 

“My, my. Dormmate you say? I do recall Lilia telling me about a little psychic who recently entered the school. From what I understand, you seem to be in the same predicament as the Prefect. Are you also a child of man?”

_ Did he always talk this much?  _ “Uh, yeah, that’s me. All childish and… of man-ish.” You sounded about as intelligent as a bag of bricks, but the amused look on Malleus’ face made you feel a little bit less terrible about it. “You two literally just became friends though. Don’t you think it’s kinda creepy that you’re hanging around out here?”

He coughed into his hand before giving his tragic backstory about how everyone is scared of him, he has no friends, Yuu is special and different, yadda yadda. Not that you didn’t feel bad for the dude, but his voice really was about to make you pass out on the sidewalk and nap for a week. Forget Lilia’s lullaby’s - this was the good shit right here. 

Malleus took note of your deteriorating consciousness and put a hand out to steady your swaying form. “...Perhaps you should get back to your room.” You rubbed your eyes and tried to ignore how huge his hand was. He was hesitant to even tell Yuu his name, so why was he so much more relaxed around you? He already knew you were a psychic, so maybe he felt as if he didn’t have much to hide from you. 

Malleus walked you part of the way back (to make sure you didn’t fall over yourself, so he said) before letting you go on your own. Besides his mildly unnerving actions he was a pretty laid back guy. You really didn’t understand why everyone stayed away from him like he had the plague. 

Giving the best wave as your tired arm would let you, you wished Malleus a good night and went back into your dorm. It wasn’t until you got into bed and were basically asleep before what he said back to you actually set in.

“Good night, Clairvoyant.”

꧁꧂

You didn’t wake up until around 10 am the next morning which further proved your theory that Malleus’ voice was created to put people to sleep. After getting ready, you grabbed your small backpack and headed towards the festival that was occurring for the Magishift tournament. You’d made a pact with yourself to not interfere in the process of Leona’s overblot given the high chance it’d just make things worse, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t go enjoy the other parts it had to offer.

Upon your arrival the very first thing you saw was Azul and the Leech twins and your first reaction was to turn around and high-tail it out of there. Unfortunately, Floyd had other plans. 

“Aha~ Ducky!”  _ Oh this dude cannot be serious right now. _

Hanging your head and trying to disregard the six feet of eel coming in your direction, you took about two steps before he caught up and started to squeeze the life out of you.

“Ow, ow! Floyd! Cut it out before I lose an arm or something.” Said boy just giggled and slightly lessened his grip, “You know my name! You really are psychic, huh?”  _ … I feel like that isn’t really impressive, but whatever makes him happy I guess.  _ The real challenge of the hour happened once you saw Jade and Azul walking up to you and Floyd and you wondering if asking Floyd to squeeze you to actual death was a viable option right now.

“Oh? If it isn’t our interesting little human. I was hoping that you would show up today.” Jade’s smile made the idea of Floyd cutting off your circulation look more tempting by the second. “I’m sure Azul would agree, hm?”

Either Jade was fucking with you or he was worse at reading the room than you thought, because Azul looked ready to tie two cinderblocks to your feet and throw you in the ocean himself. Jade gave some weird motion to his brother as Floyd pouted and begrudgingly put you back on the ground. You immediately went to Azul’s side (he was somehow the least threatening of these three) and asked him to talk privately. He looked between you and the Tweels before having them go check on “the request from the client.” 

“You guys can just say the magic amplifier, you know. It’s not exactly a secret to me.” Hey, just because you were terrified doesn’t mean you couldn’t mess around with them. 

Azul slightly stiffened next to you while the twins did that creepy sharp toothed full smile and continued off to do the task Azul asked of them. He turned to you with an impatient look on his face and you felt the slightest bit guilty. You really were trying to help during that last conversation you had, no matter how invasive you seemed. It was really hard not to have a soft spot for him and you had just let your emotions get the best of you in the moment. Hopefully you could salvage any chance of having a friendship with him.

“I’m really sorry. I know I came off as nosy and encroaching during our talk in your office. This seems weird, but I honestly just want you to be happy.” Sticking your hand out, you offered up the friendliest smile you could muster. “Do you think we can be friends? I know it isn’t up your alley but I promise if I really wanted to know something about you, I wouldn’t exactly have to be friends with you.”

Azul stared at your outstretched hand. You were right (obviously) in saying he didn’t really “do” friendships. People only wanted to gain the upper hand on him, and he learned long ago not to trust them. That being said, he knew you were also correct in saying his friendship meant nothing to you from a business standpoint. He didn’t know the limits of your powers but evidently you had more info on him than he really liked. There was nothing for you to obtain from being his friend other than just that - being his friend. If anyone else tried this with him, he’d either force them into a contract or just tell them to take a hike but for some reason your clear earnestness was eating away at him. Could he really indulge in the companionship of someone new?

“... Fine.” Azul grabbed your hand and shook it while you had to resist the urge to smother him in a hug. “But I’m extremely busy right now, though I’m sure you’re aware of that.” You didn’t let his subtle jab deteriorate your happy mood and instead thanked him for forgiving you and making your way to one of the food stalls.

Azul shook his head and muttered “What a weird one,” under his breath before going to find the twins.

You indulged yourself in whatever the hell this weird dessert was as you went from stall to stall, looking at different snacks, magic items, accessories and everything in between. They really went all out for this festival, didn’t they?

You started to make your way to a wand stand when you caught sight of Ruggie and yelled out his name in greeting. It was about half a second after this that you realized this was most likely the part of the story where Ruggie raised hell amongst the crowd to try and immobilize Diasomnia. 

Ruggie froze and slowly turned towards you, discomfort written all over his face. He was following Leona’s orders right now, but you were so nice to him when you met and he really didn’t want to harm you. What if you already knew about his plan? Were you about to try and stop him?

He walked over to you and rubbed the back of his neck before speaking. “Hey ___, I’m busy right now actually but… can you do me a favor?” You nodded and tried not to show any visible hints that you knew what was about to go down. “I need you to go back to your dorm.” 

You could tell he was doing this because he wanted to avoid you getting hurt by his actions. Listening to what he told you would probably make him feel better and help strengthen your friendship with him, but if you disagreed and tried to remedy the situation it might be for the greater good.

...

“Okay.”

You never really were one for playing hero anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [trying not to rip my hair out because i fucking suck at characterizing these boys] it's taking all my willpower not to throw platonic ruggie out the nearest window and make him more romance coded because man i fucking adore him. 
> 
> so funfact. i usually tend to dislike overly heroic characters, and i absolutely despise self sacrificial characters. if i was in twst and i knew the shit that was going down with leona i would mind my Own Damn Business, so that's what i made reader do. thank you all for reading!
> 
> songs:  
> [kuroiuta - eir aoi (this version blows emi evans out of the water idgaf what everyone else says) ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFyK-ajIAWU)  
> [1.4.2 - egoist ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-qz0yDbCz0)  
> 


	6. closure illusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boundary between dream and reality begin to falter

The thoughts were always worse at night.

You knew everyone would be fine - that no serious casualties would come out of Leona’s overblot. Should you have felt bad when Yuu came back? When you saw them covered in scratches and bruises and crying to Grim that they wished they could’ve stopped him from overblotting at all? You didn’t feel good but you didn’t feel guilty. You felt nothing, just as always. When people got hurt, when you got a perfect score on a test, when people cried with joy or with despair. What were you supposed to feel? All you knew how to do was copy the emotions of others and pretend like you were normal. It wasn’t your fault you were like this. Maybe it was your childhood coming back to remind you that because of what happened, you’d never be like everyone else. 

_Whatever, I don’t care._ Even your thoughts were lying to themselves. You turned off to the side and ignored the screaming in your head as you tried to sleep.

꧁꧂

The next morning, you were finishing getting ready for the day while you complicated on what to do. Given the magnitude of yesterday’s events, you figured bothering Ruggie probably wasn’t a great idea. Jade stared at you like a creep while you were leaving the festival, so you decided to ignore Octavinelle the next few days as well.

A knock onto the door shook you from your thoughts and you rushed over to open it and reveal… Riddle?

“What are you doing here?”

He ignored your question and entered the dorm anyway, grimacing at how dusty the room was. Turning around and placing his hands on his hips, Riddle glared at you so hard you were 90% sure you felt your lifespan going down. Clearly he came here with a goal in mind. “If you can see the future, then why didn’t you do anything to prevent yesterday’s overblot?”

Ah. That.

“The future is… weird. If I tell you something is gonna happen or whatever, then chances are you’ll do something to change the outcome without actually knowing you did.” Hopefully this would get you out of hot water for some other instances in the future. “From what I saw, the best way to handle it was not to say anything at all. He was gonna overblot no matter what, but if I had told you guys beforehand then the chances of someone getting fatally hurt or even killed would’ve been much higher.”

Riddle stared off to the side, most likely contemplating your words. It wasn’t _technically_ a lie. There probably was a good chance that things could’ve gone way worse if you had intervened. Sure it sucked that Yuu and some of the others were a little scratched up, but it was better than being dead.

Turning his head back to you, Riddle looked slightly displeased but overall accepting of your answer. He couldn’t really fault you for trying to avoid a worse ending to their battle. You smiled sheepishly and tried to fill the mildly awkward silence that was occurring. 

“So uh, I know things are kinda rough between us and all but… do you think we could try being friends? Maybe?” You couldn’t have sounded less confident in your words if you tried.

Riddle scoffed and turned towards the door, getting ready to leave. _Alright then, just say you hate my guts._ “Is that a no?”

You could see the tips of his ears blushing a furious red, almost competing with his hair. “... We already are.”

He slammed the door (probably out of embarrassment) and stormed off to God-knows where. Hey, at least you had another friend apparently.

꧁꧂

In your defense, you had absolutely no plans to show up at Scarabia’s dorm. It was as if you were sleepwalking during the day when you suddenly came to and realized how miserably hot it was here. Guess being “stuck in your thoughts” or whatever was a real thing.

Were you allowed to just walk in? Kalim probably wouldn’t care but Jamil was a different story. He either didn’t like you or he was planning to use you in his big “overthrow Kalim as prefect” plan, which you were not going to partake in regardless. 

You opened the grandiose front doors and stared in awe at the overload of golden decorations and silks that could pay the entirety of your college tuition. Laughter and jokes from the other Scarabia members could be heard throughout the halls. For a dorm that got their shit kicked in during MagiShift, they were pretty joyous. 

“___!!!” You turned around and smiled at the sight of Kalim running towards you, Jamil not too far behind. “Hi Kal-”

■■■■■

_Huh?_

■■■■■

_Where am I?_

Your body felt lightweight, and when you looked down you couldn’t even see it. No longer were you in Scarabia’s dorm hall, but in the courtyard, looking at a scene in which you didn’t belong. Ace, Deuce, Vil, Epel… you hadn’t even met the latter two yet. Why were you here?

You tried to scream out to them but your voice was silenced - an outsider who served no purpose. Was that all your life had for you? To be nothing but the “other”, a second thought or a last pick. Even in a different world, you couldn’t escape the cards you had been dealt.

Trying to make out what was being said, you willed your body to move closer and hear the conversation between all of them.

“Let us go, Epel.” That was Vil. “But I—I don’t really want to do this—!” “Have you forgotten your promise with me already? Come along now.”

This… this hadn’t happened yet. This wasn’t in any main story or side story or event story. This was new, uncharted territory. You didn’t know what was happening but you yearned for answers so badly.

■■■■■

“-__!”

■■■■■

“Are you okay? Please wake up!”

Your eyes shot open as you gasped loudly and tried to sit up way too quickly. You were on the floor with Kalim by your side, one of his hands on your back and the other on your arm as Jamil stood behind him with a confused and slightly horrified expression on his face. Was that…?

“___? You just passed out! What happened?”

You could barely see your hands shaking and every part of your body screamed at you to run away from NRC as fast as you possibly could. There’s no way this could be happening - it didn’t make any sort of logical sense. 

“___?”

“... I think I just had a vision.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took so long to come out and i'm sorry. i've had a lot to deal with and things look so grim rn but i'm trying to push through
> 
> anyway our reader is just a wee bit magical eh? i have some ideas going forward on how things will play out so *rubs hands and laughs like a cartoon villain* 
> 
> title is taken from  
> [here](https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Valkyrie)  
> and translation for the epel and vil interaction is from [here](https://kanadesmusingsblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/14/twisted-wonderland-episode-5-7-translations/#more-3736)  
> songs:  
> [lost one's weeping - afterglow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkPP-5Gs4-Y)  
> [asphyxia - co shu nie](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZUOSS_vjBY)  
> 


	7. revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for once, jamil isn't two steps ahead

Here is a cohesive list of the things you’ve learned since coming to Twisted Wonderland:

  1. No matter how badly people wish animals could talk in your world, it’s not nearly as great as it seems and they’ll most likely just beg you for food until you wanna rip your hair out.
  2. The fish cannibalism industry is thriving and nobody who participates seems to question the semantics behind it.
  3. Apparently if you lie hard enough about something then it will come true.



After helping you stand back up, Kalim started talking about how your eyes went all “blue and purple and sparkly and WOW what’s it like? Whatja see? Can I guess?” before Jamil covered his mouth and apologized. To them, you having a vision should be totally normal for you since you  _ did _ say it was your magic power and all. In actuality, you were trying really hard not to throw up in fear over how in Whoever-The-Hell’s name that even happened. You know that one episode of Spongebob where there’s like 30 of him freaking out and setting his brain on fire? You felt like that times roughly 100.

“Did you see something super scary? You’re sweating! … Like a lot.” Tactfulness wasn’t Kalim’s strong suit but he could’ve made it sound a little less disgusting. Shaking yourself out of your current internal meltdown and trying to gather your thoughts, you only replied with “Uh, yeah. Something like that.”

Jamil cleared his throat and stepped forward, putting his hand on your forehead.  _ Oh God, oh fuck oh good Lord above in heaven he’s touching me he’s  _ **_touching_ ** _ me holy shit why is his hand so smooth-  _ “Hm. It seems as if you’re running a fever - quite a high one at that. I’ll escort you back to your dorm, I wouldn’t want anything to happen if you were to make the walk back on your own.” You couldn’t tell if his smile was something straight out of a cheesy shoujo manga or if you really were hallucinating from a fever. 

Kalim gushed for a moment over how dependable Jamil was before the two of you left and headed to Ramshackle. It was dead silent between you two as Jamil tended not to start conversations in general and you were terrified of fucking up and having him murder you and leave your body out for whatever freaky creatures roamed around at night.

… Okay he probably wouldn’t  _ actually _ kill you, but the fear was still there.

“___, a moment if you would.” You hadn’t even realized you were way ahead of him, too busy thinking of an escape plan if this all went horrifically south. You turned around and looked at him before noticing this weird purple aura around him and getting to ready to ask if he needed a minute befor-

Wait.

Purple aura? Didn’t that mean…

“The person reflected in your eyes shall be your Master.”  _ Oh fuck.  _ “You shall answer when you are asked, and you shall obey when you are ordered. Snake Whisper.”

…….

Was something supposed to happen?

Jamil didn’t notice his unique magic hadn’t done jack shit on you and began speaking. “Whatever it is you’re planning, cease it immediately. I will not have anything getting in the way of my plans.” You weren’t planning anything, but you were too distracted by the shapes in Jamil’s eyes to say that. You assumed it was a side effect of using his magic but that didn’t make it any less pleasing to look at.

“... You’re really beautiful.”

Jamil instantaneously snapped out of using Snake Whisper and started sputtering all sorts of nonsense towards you. You couldn’t tell if he was freaking out over the fact you called him beautiful or that his unique magic didn’t work on you. 

“Oh, sorry about that. I probably shouldn't have been so blunt.” Given the fact he was starting to resemble Riddle, you figured trying to remedy the situation was the best course of action. “I’m not lying though.”

Jamil quickly regained his focus on the task at hand and no longer tried to hide what he was really thinking at the moment. He realized there was no point in trying to hide it from you, especially since Snake Whisper didn’t work on you. If you knew exactly what he was plotting for the future, will everything he’s been working on get turned to rubble?

A good person, a good  _ friend _ would tell Kalim that Jamil was planning to overthrow him. They’d tell one of the teachers in order to avoid someone getting hurt, whether it be physically or emotionally. But if the Scarabia chapter taught you anything, it was that Jamil and Kalim needed a serious reform on their friendship in order for things to work out between them. If that was the case, then it’s better you don’t do anything to ruin it for them.

That, or you just weren’t a good person to begin with.

“I’m not gonna tell Kalim.” Your voice was hushed and didn’t sound like it belonged to you at all. Jamil looked doubtful at your statement and you couldn't really blame him. Anyone with the slightest shred of sanity would acknowledge that his scheme wasn’t really high on the morality side of things. “It’s not my place to intervene. This is an issue between you two and it should get solved by you two.”

It was quiet as you two stood there. You looked at everywhere except his eyes while he studied you as if you were some otherworldly creature.  _ Technically I am, to be fair.  _ “You…” he broke the silence, “You’re really weird.” 

Jamil clearly had no interest in finishing the trek back to the Ramshackle dorm and instead turned around and started to make his way back to Scarabia. He looked at you once more before sighing and shaking his head. “I don’t know what kind of person you are, and that really pisses me off.” He didn’t give you a chance to reply before he began to walk back on his own.

To be honest, you didn’t know what kind of person you were either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did you guys know i actually used to hate jamil? then i finished scarabia's chapter and invented a new emotion and here we are. this is probably the first ~romantic~ moment in this story so far if you don't count jade being creepy. i actually haven't even started pom's chapter yet bc i'm just so drained from mobage in general *looks at gilfest on fgo na and skadifest on fgo jp* ah. that's why.
> 
> i tried using this chapter as a way to cheer me up so if it seems a little different than normal thats way. long story short, over the past week and a half or so my best friend no longer became my best friend. it hurts like a bitch but it's what i deserve so i gotta get over it eventually.
> 
> songs:  
> [ kiteretsu poemer - homare arisugawa (cv. toshiyuki toyonaga)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu2WTMqgmgw)  
> [vital - masaaki endo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9tfBXQt6lA)  
> also, have any of you guys ever checked out the songs i mention at the end? if you have lmk which ones you liked<3


	8. first day, same problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and so begins the actual start of your chaotic school year

After your conversation with Jamil, you’d came back to the Ramshackle dorm and proceeded to immediately pass out on your bed. You were about 90% sure Yuu had tried to ask you something or other about the whole Magishift overblot thing but you were way too drained emotionally to even comprehend English at the moment. The two of you hadn’t really talked since it all went down given that they were trying to patch up the last few issues roaming around campus. 

God, Yuu was such a good person. 

Shoving whatever negative though was about to make itself be known to the back of your head, you stretched and got ready for the day. Your classes officially started today and not missing breakfast was the most important thing on your list. Not only did you desperately need the energy, but the food here was also just really fucking good. Yuu had left a little earlier than you, something about getting Grim his “special tuna” for breakfast, but said they’d save you a seat with the rest of their friends. You walked through the door and started to head towards the dining hall whilst thinking about the best way to convince Crowley that some sort of bus system would really help with all this walking you had to do.

“Headed somewhere?”

The scream that left you was enough to make at least twenty students look your way and cause three different flocks of birds to freak out and fly off somewhere. After catching your breath and letting your heart rate go down, you saw Lilia dangling upside down in front of you with Malleus by his side. Huh, maybe that’s why the other students started running away. “Hi Lilia, Hi Tall, Dark and Brooding.” The joke didn’t click with Malleus considering his facial expression, but you thought it was funny anyway. “I’m just headed off to breakfast, why?”

Lilia floated himself back to being rightside up before glancing at his companion for a second and smiling at you. That could only mean he’s totally about to ruin your life. “I heard from a little birdy of mine that you had quite the vision in the Scarabia dorms.” See? Life ruining shit right there.

“Aha, uh, yeah I… sorta did. Nothing I’m not used to though! It was just very… strong. Yeah, yeah, strong.” _I sound like an idiot right now._ Lilia nodded to himself while Malleus gazed at you. “Such magic is few and far between in this world. Even my own grandmother would have difficulty grasping onto an ability like this.” For the love of God, you really just wanted to get some fucking breakfast. “Yeah well you know, the world works in mysterious ways or whatever. Are we done here?"

Lilia reached over to pat your head which was really weird considering you were taller than him. “Eager to continue on with your new life? It really is so refreshing to see youth explore the world around them.” Malleus spoke up while Lilia coddled you, “We simply wanted to see if your powers were a myth or not. Thank you for indulging in our curiosities.” 

Lilia smiled and disappeared before your very eyes. Malleus hesitated before saying, “I hope to see you around, Clairvoyant,” and doing the same. Man, those guys were some serious weirdos. You shook off the unsettling feeling that lingered after they left and continued towards your destination. Hopefully Yuu grabbed you something to eat before it all disappeared. 

Walking through the doors to the cafeteria, you saw the back of Jade (or Floyd’s) head for half a second before ducking behind a crowd of students and navigating towards the table where your kinda-sorta-friends were and plopping yourself next to them. You couldn’t ignore the Leeches forever especially since you and Azul were on mildly okay terms now, but you sure as hell could try. 

“Is everything okay ____?” Ah, sweet and pure Deuce. Things could not be more wrong at the moment. Yuu pushed over a tray of eggs, crepes, and chocolate milk before giving you a sympathetic smile. The only thing you had said to them last night were, “Visions SUCK,” so you figured they had a pretty good idea of how you felt right about now. 

“I’m fine Deuce. I just had a kinda stressful vision yesterday is all.” This of course launched Deuce and Ace into a mildly annoying game of twenty questions with you as Riddle and Yuu listened in. Despite how chaotic it was, something about the atmosphere put you at ease. These were people you could relax around and not have to think eighteen steps ahead during every conversation. 

So why were you refusing to open up at all?

You excused yourself once done and the table wished you luck on your first day of class. Riddle had talked with you and apparently you two weren’t lucky enough to be placed in your first class. It was a little disheartening but it could be worse - you could only pray that you’d be spared from the Leeches while you attended your lesson.

Evidently, your prayers went unanswered.

“____, it looks as if you’ll be joining me for today's lecture. I do hope we can get along.” You debated on turning right back around the second Jade said those words to you, but Trein was way too intimidating to excuse skipping his class. You simply sighed and took a seat as far away from Jade as possible, but he simply followed you and made himself comfortable next to you. His close eyed smile stayed perfectly placed on his face as you dropped your head onto the desk and groaned. Too tired to pick your head back up, you looked at him while your textbook acted as a makeshift pillow. “You know, I’d be more willing to talk to you if you were less creepy.”

“Oh, but where’s the fun in that?” You thought about humoring with a response when you saw Jamil walk into the room from the corner of your eye. Fuck, you totally forgot Jade mentioned sharing class with him in Scarabia’s story.

This school year was gonna be miserable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [brings out cake that says "sorry for dying" on it]
> 
> ok yeah i kinda..... disappeared a little bit. something something mental illness blah blah yeah whatever. i'm having surgery in a few days as well so like my schedule it just completely fucked. hopefully i'm able to post more soon and if anyone is sticking through this story then i would die for you i just need you to know that
> 
> songs:  
> [teo - leo/need ft hatsune miku ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkr5l2rg55w)  
> [dis one. - re:vale ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B58R-K_4KUs)  
> 


	9. once more, for your peace of mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> if things didn't make sense before, they definitely don't make sense now

Trein’s endless droning was subjectively the best part of your morning. Given the fact both Jade and Jamil were relatively diligent in their schoolwork, neither of them tried to bother you while class was going on. Regardless of your work ethic back home, the stuff here didn’t really matter to you which in turn led to an hour of daydreaming and checking your phone when the professor wasn’t hunting you down to make sure you were paying attention. 

The second the release bell rang, you grabbed your bag and booked it out of the room so fast you were sure cartoon smoke was behind you. Those two in one room was not something you wanted to deal with this early in the morning.

Or at all, in general, _ever._

Shaking your head, you looked down at the class schedule Crowley had given you. It wasn’t like a normal high school with class after class and a few minutes in between and instead fit more like a college schedule. Which like, to be fair, you _are_ at Night Raven College. 

While contemplating what to do for the next 40 minutes before your class started, you somehow missed the literal robot flying around campus frantically until he smacked directly into you. 

“Good fucking God, that hurt,” If robots could cry, you probably just made this one have a breakdown.

“My sincerest apologies! I didn’t mean to hurt you!” You stopped groaning for a moment to look at whatever hit you so hard it felt like a bat to the skull, and realized that baby robot himself was floating in front of you. _Oooooh my God. Son. Son right there. I want to adopt him right now._

“Don’t worry about it, you seem to be pretty freaked out.” He shook his head so fast you thought it would just straight up detach from his body.

“Yes, yes! My older brother isn’t in his dorm room, or in Ignihyde at all, and he never leaves. Never! I have to find him right now. Who knows what could be happening to him!” You were like 85% sure there was literal smoke coming from him right now. Is this what happens when robots get stressed? Will there suddenly be an influx of roomba based explosions if too much work gets put on them?

“Well, I haven’t seen your brother but if I notice anything I can tell you.” Idia was probably hiding in a hole somewhere, but the gesture was more to be nice than anything helpful.

A large smile covered Ortho’s face as he grabbed your hand and shook. “Yes, thank you so much! My name is Ortho and my big brother’s name is Idia. Please come to Ignihyde if you know anything! Thank you very much! Bye-bye!” and then he took off to who knows where. God, he was too precious for words. You briefly wondered if Idia would share custody of him with you before continuing on your way to… somewhere. You hadn’t figured it out yet but you’d probably pass by something of interest to fill in the rest of your free period. 

꧁꧂

Okay so, when you had said “pass by something,” you had meant of your own accord. What had actually happened was the sound of a stampede behind you and realizing it was about four stressfully large Savanaclaw students. Clearly everyone else didn’t feel like messing with them, because your screams as they carried you back to their dorm did absolutely nothing to save you. You’re pretty sure you at least bruised two of them from your kicking and punching and they luckily didn’t try to eat you or anything, so it could’ve gone worse. 

Well, actually the “worse” part was happening right now.

In your ideal plan for being stuck here, contact with one Leona Kingscholar was in the top three things you didn’t want to happen. His attitude on it’s own was enough to ward you away, but the fact he could be temperamental and turn you into a sandcastle if something went wrong? Not exactly what you’d consider a good time. 

“So uh, why am I here?”

You’re pretty sure the chair you were sitting in while you were forced to be in his dorm room was brushing your ass. Plus, you very much still had classes today. Just because he didn’t feel like going does not mean you were gonna skip too. 

It was silent for a few more beats before Leona spoke up. “Did you know anything that was gonna happen?” You avoided eye contact with him. It’s obvious what he was talking about but you didn’t really wanna discuss it with anyone at all, nevermind the one who caused the whole thing. 

He growled and slammed his fist on his side table before asking again, significantly more agitated than before. “Did you know? About what would happen at the MagiShift tournament?”

“... Yes.”

“You knew it wouldn’t work?

“Yes.”

“You knew that I would overblot?”

“Yes.”

“And you did absolutely nothing to prevent any of it from happening?”

Your voice caught in your throat before you could supply an answer. Why didn’t you help? The whole “future-could-be-changed” spiel you always went on was completely baseless and probably not true at all and even if they didn’t know that, you did. What was stopping you from just… being a good person?

“... No, I didn’t.”

He sat back and exhaled loudly, clearly both satisfied and dissatisfied with your response. You could feel him staring at you while you aimlessly gazed out his window and observed the rest of the Savanclaw dorm. What else was there to say? You could’ve helped, you didn’t, end of story. It was a villain school so this sort of thing shouldn’t come as a shock. Not that you were a villain in the sense, but you sure as hell felt like one after that. 

“Whatever. It’s done with now, and at least I know you’re not a pathetic goody two shoes like that other damned herbivore.” Well, fair enough. At least there’s that. You still didn’t look at him though, now actually distracted by the two boys chasing their tails down below. You sort of wanted to see if they’d manage to catch them. “Ruggie seems to like you.”

All right, _that_ got your attention. You turned back as Leona stretched and got ready to take a nap or something. Seriously? Like you weren’t in the middle of a conversation. All he said after was, “If Ruggie’s good with you, then you’re probably fine,” before closing his eyes and going to sleep. 

… Could you leave?

He cracked one eye open while looking mildly annoyed with you. “Well? Get out.” That answers that question. 

You silently got up and looked at him once more before leaving him room and making your way back to the Savanclaw exit. You didn’t see Ruggie on your way out so hopefully he was being a good egg and actually attending class. Checking your phone, you realized there was still a good 25 minutes before you had to leave to get back to class. Damn, those Savanaclaw kids ran way faster than you realized.

You entered through the mirror to get back and tried to ignore the nauseous feeling it gave you. That was one thing you weren’t getting used to any time soon. Once you were out, you remember there was a library right next to your next class. Might be worth it to go look at a book or two and figure out how the hell things worked at the school.

꧁꧂

Thanking the three eyed monster-goblin-lady-thing for checking you in and guiding you on where to find what, you grabbed a few hefty tomes? Were these tomes? You’d obviously never used one before, so you couldn’t say for certain but you grabbed them anyway and looked for a spot to sit down. Might as well slam through a couple pages before leaving for Potions class. 

A small sliver of familiar lavender hair caught your eye as it tried to make itself non-existent behind a gigantic textbook. Seriously, what the hell could be in that thing? You walked over to whoever it was and confirmed your suspicions before saying his name.

“Excuse me? Epel?” 

He jumped out of his skin before slamming his book down out of fear and looking towards you. It was silent for a moment and he tried to make himself invisible before realizing it wasn’t working and quietly speaking to you.

“Do… do I know you?”

You shook your head and sat down across from him. “Nope. Well, not technically. My name is ____, the new student that kinda showed up.” 

He looked confused and played with his hands for a second before responding. “I thought that was Yuu…”

Oh, right. He wasn’t really involved with the story at this point. “Ah, different new student. Vil wasn’t there when I had to go through the whole mirror dorm assignment thing, but I’m newer than Yuu. It’s only my first day today.” 

He nodded and avoided looking at you. It’s only been a couple months since the start of the school year, but has Vil already gotten to him?

You smiled as softly as you could without being creepy and spoke up once more. “Hey uh… this is kind of a secret, so don’t go spilling it, okay?” He nodded while you continued. “I’m actually a psychic, so if there’s anything you’re worrying about or concerned over… I probably have a good idea of why.”

His face dropped and tears began to well. He quickly wiped them away before vehemently denying things you haven't even brought up. You tried your best to calm him down and helped wipe his tears considering he was freaking out too much to do so. 

“Hey, hey, don’t worry. I’m not gonna tell Vil or anything about what you think. You’re allowed to feel however you want towards someone who treats you that horribly.” He started breathing normally and apologized for freaking out. 

“It’s okay, I don’t blame you.” You look at the clock and swore under your breath before glancing back at Epel. “My class is about to start, but if you ever need anything, I’m apart of the Ramshackle dorm, okay?” He nodded as you picked up your bag and you gave him a wave. “I hope you feel better.”

He fidgeted for a second before replying. “Um… thank you.”

You really felt bad for him. He was probably so excited to come to NRC and for it to be crushed because of an awful dorm leader… poor kid.

He departed in the opposite direction as you, probably headed to whatever lesson he needed to be at. Speaking of, you had to hurry before missing your next one. Being a victim of Divus’ pointer stick thing wasn’t something you were really gunning for. 

꧁꧂

You were a little sweaty and probably gross, but on-time nonetheless. There were a few minutes to go before class started, so you took a seat next to Riddle once you saw him. Obviously whoever was controlling humanity from upstairs felt bad for you and let you off easy for now. 

“Hey Cherry, how’s it hanging?”

He groaned and let his head fall on the desk. “I already have to deal with that insufferable fish, now you’re giving me a stupid name too?” 

You yawned and placed your bag next to you before taking a seat. “Nah, I’ll cut it out if you want me to. Just thought it’d be fun or something.” He looked up at you and lifted his head from the desk before sighing and fixing his hair. He was actually super adorable in his school uniform, kind of a shame you didn’t see it more often.

“You can do whatever you please.” Ah, so the tsun comes out. “Regardless, I think it’s important t-

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Ḯ̶̢͔̙̬̘̤͙͓̺̤̩̱̗̓̃̽͗͘͘ͅt̷̞̘̼̣̥͇̻̠̯̥͇̜̺̠̯͖̬͐̔͑̉͂̆͜'̶̨̲̦̪̭̤͔̮̝̈́̀̂̑̍̇́̑̏͋̓͛̃͐̂͘͠͝s̶̨̢̼̮͎͙̩̠̜̮͖̭̺̹̺̞̦̮̐͆͊̂̅̈́͂̇͌̾̂̑́̊̈́͝͝͠ ̸̨̰͔̘̻͓͙̯̹̱̬͕͇͇̮͍̯̈́̎͌̑͊͗̈́͋͐̌̈́̔̏͛̾̚n̷̢̨̘̼͕͎̙̳̜̘͖̙͎̎̊͛̋̃̀̈́͌̽͆̕͘͝͝õ̴͔̹̓̈́̇̓͂̚͠͠͝ţ̷̛̖̟̘̻̪͔̮͔̙̼͓͕̣̲͛̊̓̉̉͜͠ ̵̨̛͓̬͈͈̭̲͙̻̩͇̐̀̿̑̇̊́̎̋̓̑̈͒͠f̴̛̹̳̼͔̫̪̤͗̎̔̊̇͑̃a̶̻̣̖̤͓͎̳͂̾̈́̃̍̿́̌͋̃͌̒̾̆͝i̶̧̛̥̮͕̣̠̺͇͕̖̔̍͛̅͊̓̔̏̊̓̄͑͆͂̂͂͝ṟ̴̡̛̻̪̤̤̩̞͙̜̱̋͊͐̐̇̄̒̍͛͆̀̄̎̆͘͘

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

_???_

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

Į̷̉̋ṯ̴̈́'̶̱̐̓s̶̡͈̍ ̵̭͋͝ņ̸̬̓o̴̪͊ͅt̴͌ ̸͑ͅf̵͔͂ȧ̷̘i̷̝̐r̴̜

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

_“IT’S NOT FAIR!”_

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■

… Since when have your eyes been full of such hatred?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so i'm taking liberties here as far as like.. the school classes go. since it's night raven COLLEGE then like realistically classes would be spread all over the place and with different professors and students, yknow? also it's just easier for me so i will do as i please. 
> 
> author #FunFactz: ortho is one of my faves. my list goes something like lilia, cater, riddle, ruggie, jade, ortho/azul??? maybe jamil?? after the top four it gets confusing but i love that little robo boy. fun facts part 2 i don't like leona HOLD YOUR PITCHFORKS PLEASE i think like... he could've been written better post overblot. a big part of him doesn't really seem to have changed and im like :/ lost opportunity. personally, regardless of whatever the hell i don't see him just being buddy buddy with yuu so thats why he seems kind of like a dick towards them now, but he could still be a better leader and stuff to savanaclaw. ........ i also just don't like how he treated ruggie pre-overblot and am still bitter but like whatever. what the hell can i do. i know there's a lot of leona havers out there so i will supply you folks this once.... thank me for my generosity later
> 
> jokes jokes, in all seriousness i'm glad people are still reading my cringe fest self insert. honest to god this fic was just me going "all right if nobody is gonna do this shit then i'll make it my damn self" and then i actually did it and was like oh holy fuck. okay. i see
> 
> i know the direction i wanna go in and the ending i wanna see (mostly) but just like getting there and not smacking it down right now is killing me. fuck the buildup i want the climax NOW. in my head this is like somewhere between 15-25 chapters so let's see how that one goes over.
> 
> also if you love vil sorry this isn't the fic for you my man abuses epel to no end and boy howdy does the way he act remind me of actual irl abusers i've know so there's no redeeming this dude. thats why hes not even listed im just straight up not gonna write him ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> ok wow these notes long as hell. i'm heading out before people start throwing tomatoes at me or something. thank you all for reading as usual! see you in the next update<3
> 
> songs:  
> [ titania - sakutasuke](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca4VRL8n3Fc)  
> [senbonzakura - hatsune miku](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqps4anhz0Q)  
> 


	10. pursuit of the unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> songs:  
> [mikazuki (me hikigatari version) - sayuri ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErOHrBrlcX8)  
> [ga1ahad and scientific witchery - mili](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-nxW9qBtxQ)  
> [image _____ - memai siren](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVCj13vjIig)  
> 

You were jarred awake by a bloodcurdling scream ringing in your ears. It was only after Riddle busted down the door and questioned what was wrong that you realized the scream came from you. Disoriented and throat hurting, you asked him to explain why exactly you were in the school’s infirmary.

He took a seat on your medical bed before offering an explanation. “We were just talking normally when your eyes turned into something… inhuman. I’ve never seen anything like it before. This weird glow came from you before you collapsed before Professor Crewel ordered me to take you here.” Oh, well isn’t that just a bucket of fun?

You slumped back into your bed and tried not to freak out again. That last vision of yours felt like a straight up nightmare. Black and empty, a sense of dread overtaking your body despite not physically being in that moment. You never wanted to experience it again.

You and Riddle sat in silence for the next few minutes - with you being horrifically stressed about your predicament and Riddle just not knowing where to carry the conversation. He looks almost uncomfortable around you but makes no motion to get up and leave, instead choosing to avoid eye contact with you and bounce his leg up and down. 

You opened your mouth to let Riddle know he didn’t have to stay with you, but words tumbled from his mouth before you could get anything out.

“That-that thing. When you had that vision. There was a part before you collapsed where you screamed so loudly I thought the windows would break.” The hand of his that’s holding onto yours starts twitching. You didn’t even notice he was grasping onto it for dear life until now, and your stress levels skyrocketed. “I’ve never heard anyone in that much pain in my entire life.”

What could you even respond with to that? ‘Damn dude, that blows. It was fucking terrifying, thanks for asking.’ You weren’t about to let him, or _anyone_ for that matter, know just what you saw. 

“I feel much better now, if that helps. It’s probably just a side effect I didn’t know about or something.” Riddle let go of your hand when you started raising your arms to stretch and let out a yawn that would put every beastman at this school to shame. He let out a cough and tried to hide his smile. “Anyway, thanks for sticking by me and all that jazz. You didn’t have to wait or anything. You’re a good friend,” you told him as you went to grab your schoolbag. He must’ve brought it along when he…

Actually, how did he even get you here? Those noodle arms weren’t doing much for him and you somehow doubted he could carry you without help. You ignored it regardless in favor of staying grateful he did anything at all. 

The pair of you made your way to the door to re-enter civilization. Riddle had informed you that you’d been out cold for a little over two hours and that Crowley gave you permission to miss the rest of today. Even if he acted like an unreliable nutcase, he would prefer that his students didn’t die in the middle of class.

You decided to go back to the library after you and Riddle departed from each other, with him reminding you Heartslabyul’s door is always open in his own off-putting, mildly tsundere way. You hadn’t really gotten to read much of anything earlier in the day and hoped there was a book about the semantics of suddenly gaining magical powers. Maybe not everyone here was born with magic and then manifested it later in their life, so surely there should be _something_ to help you out.

꧁꧂

If the author of this book wasn’t probably dead, you’d kiss them.

You’d scoured some of the more historical and research-based texts before finding a sort of memoir-esque book by one Milvis Sativey in the way back of the library, completely caked by dust. Man, the names here were weird.

Apparently he had conducted some sort of scientific experiments about exposure of magic to a non-magic user, which confirmed your hypothesis of them existing here. The point was to see if the human body would adapt to the conditions and find a way to harness magic ability if it was forced onto it in a way that doesn’t directly cause harm, or if it would be completely rejected due to not having the necessary functions to handle it at all.

_Subject #14_

_Day 72_

_Patient is seemingly a success._

_As viewed with Subject #8, much of magical ability is derived directly from one’s mental viewings and emotional ability to conduct spells. Subject #14, after being convinced she can move objects with her mind, has successfully moved a ceramic plate 106 centimeters across an enclosed room. Not the largest distance moved, but a boon nonetheless._

_Previously deemed as magicless, once the brain has informed the body formerly impossible tasks are now do-able with power that could not have been accessed before, the body complies and discovers a way to harness the magic within our air and implant it for usage._

_It is critical that a few further conditions are met. The user must have an intense desire to have their own magic ability, and must be able to visualize the act happening before them. It is also only possible if the user is exposed to copious amounts of magic within a short period of time. The excess left behind from spells or the aura of powerful users suffices well enough. This acts as a sort of fuel to kickstart the body as it can produce no mana of it’s own at the start._

_Observed side effects of this method include memory loss of the event, a painful and near-radioactive glow emitting from the users eyes, mouth, or surrounding their body, and in the case of Subject #12, a psychotic breakdown before combustion of one’s body._

_Research to be halted until the chance for death is slightly lowered._

Fucking stellar.

You closed the book with your trembling hands and tried to steady your breathing. There was a chance you were going to die all because of some stupid fucking thing you said on a whim and this world’s sick idea of fun took it literally. 

Making sure nobody was watching you, you quietly slid the book into your backpack. Nobody else needed to see this and start theorizing all sorts of nonsense. Also, you were just horribly paranoid someone would figure out that’s how you got your power. 

By the time you finished your little meltdown over the possibility of your future, dinner had rolled around and you figured you should head down to the dining hall so nobody would come questioning you and make you talk about the whole vision thing from earlier. 

This sucked. Just everything about it sucked. You never asked to be here, never asked to be forced into a situation you had no business being a part of. Why the hell should all these other people’s problems matter to you? If Yuu wanted to play martyr and sacrifice themselves for the “greater good” or whatever happy-go-lucky bullshit it would be classified as, then that was on them. You had no obligations to destroy yourself for someone else. You haven’t forgotten the looks Riddle and Leona gave you when you had admitted you did nothing to try and remedy the overblot situation. Even if for a split second, it was obvious they didn’t consider you near the top of any sort of morality ladder.

You muttered out a quick and empty “sorry” to whoever you bumped into as you entered the dining hall, not expecting them to reply.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve spoken, has it not?”

_Not him, I am so not in the mood for this._

Spinning around and looking Jade directly in his creepy ass eyes, you got to your point immediately. 

“Look, I don’t know what you want from me, and I’m starting to really not give a shit either. Just hurry the fuck up and kill me, or blackmail me, or whatever the hell it is you wanna do so we can move on and all this stupid stuff can be over with, because I’m really tired of you hovering around like some stalker and if you’re trying to be friends with me or whatever, you’re doing a really awful job at it.”

One beat of silence. Two. Three.

Jade was silent during that moment before composing himself once more and letting out the smallest laugh. You had half a mind just to leave because you could feel your blood pressure rising by the second.

“A temper like that might cause for some rather unsavory situations, don’t you think?”

“I really don’t care.”

His eyes narrowed momentarily as he spoke up, “Friends you say? I’ve never desired something such as that, yet I can’t lie and say you haven’t piqued my interest.”

That whole psychotic breakdown thing might happen right now instead of later if he didn’t leave you alone.

“Awesome, great. Can I go eat now?”

He nodded and you turned around to go walk into the dining hall when a really _cold_ grip latched onto your wrist. Whipping your head back to look at Jade, he simply started walking in whilst dragging you behind him. 

“ ** _What the fuck are you doing?”_ **

“Friends eat meals together, do they not?” Ah. You should’ve known that would come back to bite you in the ass. The two of you walked right by your normal table, where Ace looked horrified, Deuce looked betrayed, Yuu looked concerned, and Riddle looked like he was going to blow up the entire establishment. You simply mouthed a ‘sorry’ to them as Jade kept moving forward. 

Azul and Floyd were sitting at a table with only four seats, meaning it was just perfect enough for you to join. Fantastic. Upon spotting you, Azul stiffened and Floyd looked like he just won the lottery. You were really hoping that combustion thing would hit right about now.

“Ducky! You came to play!” “Not of my own free will, I didn’t.” Azul cleared his throat before pointing his fork at you like it was making some sort of statement. Who was he, Riddle? 

“Yes, well, such things are to be expected when you find yourself involved with Jade.” The said Leech had you sit down with an empty seat next to you, presumably for him. Man, Azul’s salad looked absolutely miserable. It was providing a subpar distraction from Floyd’s sparkling eyes though, so you weren’t in any place to complain. 

Jade went over to get the two of you dinner, knowing you’d probably high tail it if you were left alone for more than three seconds. You should’ve forced him to take you with him, because right now Floyd was shaking you around so hard your brain was probably bouncing around your skull like a marble. You couldn’t even focus on what he was telling you because you were trying not to throw up from your newly developed motion sickness. Azul chided him after a minute or so, saying that he had something to discuss with you. You only needed one guess as to what it was about.

“So, I heard you caused quite the spectacle in Crewel’s class today.” There it was.

“Uh, yeah. Vision gone slightly haywire.” Jade had arrived back with some scary looking fish thing for himself and what looked like an absolutely banger plate of chicken parmesan for you. You continued speaking as he placed both dishes in front of you two, “Riddle had to take me to the infirmary before the class could even officially start.”

Jade froze briefly before resuming eating his meal. Azul’s eyebrow raised and Floyd went “Ooooh, this is gonna be fun!” while you wondered if there was a punchline or something here. What was so interesting about that?

You turned to your forced companion to question him. “You wanna tell me why they’re acting weird...er than usual.”

“Not particularly.” Oh. Cool.

Azul questioned you more about the vision and how exactly it works in the first place (you don’t know) and Floyd offered to force you to have one (again, don’t know how that’d work but you really didn’t want to find out) while you ignored Jade’s blatant staring directly at you while you spoke. The air of discomfort you held wasn’t well hidden, but Jade seemed to disregard it anyway. 

By the time you had all finished eating, you were getting ready to go back to your normal table for a second to explain why you didn’t eat with them as Azul and Floyd dismissed themselves, leaving you and Jade alone for a small stretch of time. You wanted to book it back without saying anything, but that moment from earlier still bothered you. Better to squash the curiosity now than let it fester, you supposed. 

“What was up with that weird instant from before? After I told you about going to the infirmary?”

This was the only time today Jade wasn’t staring into your damn soul, instead focusing intensely on your friends across the room. You decided snarky comments weren’t the best play right now, considering how deathly serious he seemed to be.

“Riddle… was he the one who carried you there?”

Well, you weren’t exactly awake to know, but it was probably the best assumption. “I guess so. I didn’t really bother to ask.”

Gone was that usual teasing light in Jade’s eyes as he turned towards, now replaced by something more dangerous. Primal. 

“In that case, I have to say I’m not fond of someone else placing their hands on you in such a way.”

You knew Jade was tall to begin with, but you became so much more self aware of it as he stood and towered over you, his hand making it’s way to grasp your chin. Holding your breath, you couldn’t even formulate a response to anything happening right now. If anyone was staring at you two, it wasn’t important enough to be pointed out by either of you. He got ever so slightly closer as any sign of joking or playfulness completely diminished from his person. 

“Please take care to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

And then he was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lel. jade is getting serious
> 
> i had planned for more after the end of the last sentence but figured it'd ruin my dramatic ending so i'll save it for next chapter. do i care that everyone was ooc? no. it's my fic and i make the fucking rules. if i want creepy jealous bastard jade then by god i will write him.
> 
> *rubs my grubby little hands together* i have some Very Fun (read: not very fun) things planned for the next chapter so hopefully i actually get to put it in and my brain doesn't go haywire and write something else instead. i hope you folks are ready for this shit cause its about to go DOWN in the next few chaps.
> 
> i also started putting songs at the start because it makes more sense i think. maybe it doesn't. i did it anyway. as always thank you for reading and love you long time<3


	11. truth through the mist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> even if you don't want to hear it, doesn't make it any less true

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> songs:  
> [nisoku hokou - deco*27 ](https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm9150606)  
> [static - mili ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8duD1MBrBY)  
> [boys in kalidosphere ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shC5MDtYpBU)  
> [rolling girl - rishie-p ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6INuGF-Kvk)  
> 

It must’ve been ten seconds at most, but it felt as if hours had passed as you stood there trying to get your brain functioning again. You didn’t even know if students were staring at you or not, too shaken up over Jade’s actions to even process anything except that your chin felt like it was on fire in the exact spot he touched.

The daze was rather short lived, as one pissed off dorm prefect came storming towards you ready to start smacking bitches over the head with his staff. 

“What the _hell_ was that?!”

Deuce, Ace and Yuu followed behind Riddle, with Ace seemingly pissed off like Riddle and the other two more sympathetic (scared?) for your unfortunate encounter. Riddle tapped his foot impatiently as bystanders started to look away from your little group. Smart on them, given that Riddle would freak out even more if people were staring. 

“I-I have no idea! I just told him about waking up in the nurse’s office and everything and he got all weird about it. It’s not like you did anything bad to me while we were in there.”

You didn’t miss the look that Ace and Deuce gave to each other, nor did you miss Yuu’s eyes going wide and glancing between you and Riddle. Evidently he hadn’t mentioned the small amount of time you two had spent together earlier and the first years were looking way too much into it.

Riddle spun around and barked at the trio to go back to their respective dorm halls whilst he spoke with you. Still in a mild daze over the past five minutes, you didn’t realize Riddle was dragging you down the hallway to a small room that was currently unoccupied until he slammed the door open. You decided not to tell him how badly his hand was sweating as he held yours. 

Upon entering, Riddle rested his head against the wall. His hands were balled into fists at his side and you could hear his shaky breaths. You rested your back against the door, unsure of where this was going and prepared to make a break for it if necessary. 

The silence was overbearing, almost as if the relationship between you two would shatter completely if one wrong word was spoken. Riddle dipped his toes in first, his mouth opening and closing as he grasped for how to even start this conversation. 

“Jade Leech is…”

Unsettling? Harrowing? A menace to society?

“... Someone you should stay away from.”

Oh. Well then.

The logical part of your brain told you Riddle was just trying to keep you out of harm's way. The twins and Azul had their reputation for a reason and he didn’t want you to get mixed up in that and end up hurt because of their antics. Unfortunately, the more unhinged part of your brain was mildly pissed off that Riddle thought he could tell you who you should and shouldn’t be around.

“Isn’t it kind of fucking obvious I’m trying not to be around him as is? That deathgrip he has isn’t exactly something I can easily break away from. Why do you care anyway?” You tried not to let your irritation become entwined with your words, but everything today was so overwhelming and confusing that you were starting to hit your wits end.

Riddle’s cheeks flared as he tried to muster up an explanation. 

“That-He’s just untrustworthy! Haven’t you heard about all the terrible things they do after classes have ended?! If you have any sense of self-preservation then you’ll think twice about who you become involved with.”

You gritted your teeth and stormed in his direction. Did he forget he was a tyrant a month ago? All the people he was supposed to guide but instead tip-toed around him in fear?

“And what of it?! Look me in the eye and tell me the first thing you know about Jade, or Azul, or Ruggie, or Epel, or anyone else you never bothered to give the time of day.”

He tried to get a word in, clearly realizing he completely botched his wording but you were too busy letting out what you’ve been keeping inside since you got here.

“What is _with_ the people in this world?! You all carry such an absurd sense of entitlement that I feel like I can’t even walk outside without doing something wrong. If you’re gonna sit here and project whatever personal issues you have onto me then you can find someone else who’ll put up with it. I’m not gonna sit here and let you delude yourself into thinking you know me more than you really do.”

You desperately gasped for air after spitting all of that out, not able to meet Riddle’s eyes as you let yourself slide back against the wall and take a seat on the ground. You could feel your past trauma slowly creeping up onto you. People who manipulated you into believing that they cared, they did this because they couldn’t bear with how much they loved you and couldn’t let you get hurt by such horrible people on the outside. Friends you lost because you couldn’t see yourself getting taken advantage of and lashing out when all they wanted was to help you.

Riddle took a seat next you but kept his head facing the ground. The quiet moment is what the two of you needed right now. You knew Riddle’s life was messed up, that his mother had wormed herself to be a constant fear in the back of his head. Maybe you could fool yourself and pretend that he might understand you a little bit and enjoy the moment before he inevitably left you behind because he thought you were a monster.

He gently nudged your shoulder with his to get your attention before he apologized. 

“You’re right. I don’t know you as well as I’d like to, and I shouldn’t force my ideals onto you. I really am just trying to help you though, I promise.”

You weren’t expecting it to sound that sincere. Was Riddle different because the course the game was supposed to take completely skewed? 

“If you want us to become closer, then how about I go to one of those unbirthday party things you guys always hold?” You tried to offer up something that didn’t seem too suffocating since there’d be some other people around you two. Evidently, Riddle didn’t really feel the same way.

“I’d prefer if we were to be without any possible interruptions. Learning all that I can about you will be easier if it’s just us.”

He looked like he was about to pass out at any second due to being this blunt, but at least he got the words out. If he was going to make an active effort, you supposed you should as well.

“I’d like that.”

꧁꧂

You and Riddle had talked for a small while longer about whatever popped into your heads before deciding to go back to both of your dorm halls lest you get yelled at for trespassing. Night had fallen by the time you got back to Ramshackle, so you decided to loiter around outside for a little bit in hopes of running into a certain someone.

Swinging your feet back and forth while you sat atop a small fence, you waved at the figure once it came into view.

“Clairvoyant? Why are you roaming around this late into the evening?”

It was really hard to place your finger on it, but something about Malleus really put you at peace. Despite being Lilia’s technical son and looking similar in age to the other third years, he gave an air of maturity not found easily from other students - almost like an older brother.

“Nothing much, just chillin’ out, having a morality crisis. The usual.”

His eyebrows raised, Malleus walked over and took a seat next to you. The times where he could converse normally with other students was probably few and far between, so it wasn’t surprising he’d want to hear more. It was honestly kind of upsetting how he got brushed off and avoided and for what? Cause he has cool ass horns?

“If you don’t mind indulging me, I would be interested in hearing about this ‘morality crisis’ you mention.” 

Stifling a giggle, you looked up at the sky and stayed quiet while trying to think. The sky here was so beautiful, it made you feel a little less lonely.

“Do you think that… that not using my power to help people makes me evil?”

The seriousness of your question was mildly unexpected, and Malleus let it sink into his veins. He had wondered the same hundreds of times, yet could never muster the courage to face the truth from someone else’s perspective. He admired that about you.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say so. Many a time, it leads to heavy dependency from another party, or the unavoidable instance of being taken advantage of. Those who will use you for their own personal gain, and leave you behind with nothing.” 

His response eased your mind more than you thought it would. Nobody would understand this sort of problem more than Malleus, and the reassurance that he didn’t view you differently for it made some part of you emotional.

“It’s just like, I can see it in their eyes, y’know. Wondering why I didn’t stop Leona’s overblot or something. But I didn’t come here to play hero or whatever, I didn’t even come here of my own accord. Maybe it’s selfish but I’m not putting my life on the line for people I barely even know.”

He nodded along as you spoke, resonating heavily with everything you said. What’s wrong with putting yourself before someone who doesn’t care what happens to you?

“By the way, did you do something to me the last time we were out here? I was crazy fidgety and stuff but once you came along I got tired in an instant.”

The ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. Guess you had been right in assuming he made you sleepy.

“An old spell Lilia used on me as a child. It’s effectiveness has worn off quite a bit over the years, but for a small human such as yourself, the result was extremely potent. I’m glad I was able to aid you in a night well-rested.” An unexpected yawn left your mouth, and you deadpanned at him.

“Yeah, well, you wouldn’t happen to be doing it again, would you?”

He didn’t give a direct answer, instead standing up and offering his hand out to you. You grabbed it and hopped down as well, and the two of you walked back to your dorm hall.

“You know Malleus, you were probably a pretty kick-ass older brother to Silver.”

The puff of laughter he let out sounded like a dragon’s snort, and you thought for a second about Malleus with a human body but a giant dragon head. Pretty fuckin’ funny, if you do say so yourself.

He dropped you off at the door once more, this scene familiar from your first encounter with each other, and wished you a goodnight. The rest was a blur as you went to your room and collapsed into a deep sleep.

꧁꧂

The next morning was an odd tango of you and Yuu getting ready at the same time while Grim acted like an idiot and distracted you both. The two of you raced each other to be the first at the cafeteria, with you beating out your dormmate by a few seconds.

“Ugh, no fair! I’ve got more torso than leg!”

“You snooze, you lose.” You stopped walking for a second. “ _Yuu_ lose.”

They rolled their eyes at the emphasis you used to make the joke, and you both went to pick out your respective meals. Props to the chefs in this place, cause you had never seen a pancake this big in your whole life.

The trio was already sat at your usual table, though they had all gone silent the second Yuu, Grim and yourself had sat down. The three of you exchanged looks and turned your attention back to Riddle, Ace and Deuce. You spoke to idiots as you sat down with your food.

“You know going completely quiet when someone arrives is like, the biggest telltale sign that you were shittalking them, right?”

Adeuce tried defending themselves as Riddle just sighed and rubbed his temple. 

“I wouldn’t allow those two imbeciles to do anything such as that while I’m here. They were making all sorts of foolish assumptions over why I showed up late back to the dorm hall-”

“It’s cause you were hangin’ with this cutie, wasn’t it?”

A new voice made itself heard as you turned around and saw Cater in the flesh, Trey right behind him. Riddle sputtered and tried to deny the accusation.

“I-I-There wasn’t-We didn’t-!”

“You’re totes obvi, Riddle! I can smell the love in the air from over here.”

Trey blocked your view of Cater and took a seat next to you as Cater dropped next to Ace. 

“Sorry for his babbling. It was just something unexpected from our dorm leader, is all.” He stuck his hand out towards you. “I’m Trey Clover, you must be ___, right?”

You shook his hand and nodded your head, the pancake in your mouth preventing you from speaking. 

“Hi-hi! I’m your ultra-cute Cater, at your service~ You’re that crazy cool psychic I heard about, yeah yeah?”

You, Deuce, Riddle, and Yuu all turned and glared at Ace. He whistled and looked around, avoiding eye contact with everyone else at the table. 

“I have no idea how he found that out, swear on it!”

“You’re the one who told Cater and myself, Ace.”

Ace started freaking out at his upperclassman as Trey ratted him out. You knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut to save his life, and instead just hoped he hadn’t told anyone else in the dorm. 

Deuce hung his head in shame and started apologizing to you _very_ loudly. 

“I was with him when it happened and did nothing to stop him, I’m sincerely sorry!”

You winced and tried to get your ears to stop ringing as Riddle yelled at Deuce to sit down before he drew more attention to your group. Trey turned towards you in an attempt to make conversation.

“Although, that is a really interesting magic you have. I’ve never met anyone with anything like it.” You took a sip of juice before he continued. “How does it work? Do you see the future on command?” The rest of your table’s noise died down as they listened in, curious to get some details on the thing you kept under such tight lock and key.

“Not really, it kinda gets like, triggered I guess. Like if I hear or see something certain then my brain reacts and has a vision. Sometimes it’s not even related to whatever happened in real time, so it’s really unpredictable.”

“But you knew about Leona, didn’t you?”

Deuce jabbed Ace’s ribs and tried getting him to shut up, but you’re sure a fair amount of the people you’ve spoken to probably came to that conclusion.

“.. Yeah, I did.”

Yuu sensed you tense up next to them, and tried to remedy the situation to no avail. 

“Ace, maybe we shouldn’t talk about this now.”

He took a swig from his soda can and opened his mouth once more.

“Well like, it’s crazy, right? Being able to see things _that_ important. It’d stress me the hell out, that’s for sure.”

It would’ve been fine had he just stopped there.

“But you know, Yuu is magicless and you’ve been kinda useless compared to them.”

Cater stopped typing and looked up, while Riddle and Trey began reprimanding Ace. Yuu desperately tried to apologize for Ace’s blunder, but the damage had already been done.

You placed your hands on the table and pushed your chair out, not listening as you grabbed your backpack and quickly left the cafeteria. You could hear Yuu and Deuce begin to yell at Ace as well as you walked out, as if that was supposed to do anything now.

Of fucking _course_ Yuu is more useful than you. You’re nothing but a fraud in a place where you didn’t belong. Yuu’s the main character, everyone just fucking adores them! They’d never be as uncaring and emotionless towards situations like this the same way you are, because Yuu is perfect while you’re just-!

_Drip, drop._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [(: ](https://imgur.com/a/PFacPce)  
> ladies and germs if you couldn't tell your author is packing trauma out the oiseaux (wazoo). 
> 
> sorry i died again you guys have heard this a million times lets just pack it up you dont need my speech again.
> 
> things are fucking HAPPENINGGGG AGHGHGHG IM SO EXCITED 
> 
> thank you all for supporting me as always and sticking thru my ass update schedule<3


End file.
